Shooting a film or video or creating a great looking website or becoming a YouTuber is only the first step in presenting your media. If your sound isn’t up to quality, the end result is that unmistakable amateur look and feel. That is something you really want to avoid if your credibility is important to you.
Good Audio Production starts with good microphones, actually even an inexpensive microphone can do a good job if you know how to use it and where to place it. If it is a voice program for what we call a talking head, a decent shotgun super cardioid microphone or a wireless lavalier microphone can do the job very well. It is important to note that if you are in any windy environment, using a wind screen mic protector such as a “Dead Cat” fur cover can be very beneficial in keeping unwanted noise from entering the recording.
If it is a musical program you wish to capture, it is not always necessary to place multiple microphones among the performers as there are times when a good single stereo microphone placed using the M-S method of recording can render a much more natural sounding performance that other more detailed approaches.
The second most important element in the chain of capturing a good recording is to use cabling that assists in eliminating induced hum and noise from surrounding power devices. Whenever possible it is important to use Balanced cabling especially if a longer run of cabling is needed.
Newer devices with the changing of technology allow much smaller equipment to be used which can still bring amazing sound results. Small hand held digital recorders if used correctly can save time and money and often allows the use of multiple smaller recording devices in various locations to grab audio that might normally be lost had they not been placed. Each device can later be synced together in a multi track recording environment as well as using multi track recorders in the field to start with.
The entire secret of good audio production is to be able to recreate the illusion of the spacial arena desired for the final listening environment.